Geography of tech skills

Tech skills are found right across the UK

London has the highest concentration at 30%, with 15% in the South East, 9% in the East of England and 8% in the North West.

Proportion of total UK LinkedIn membership with tech skills

Region

Proportion of total UK LinkedIn membership with tech skills (%)

Proportion of LinkedIn members with tech skills (%)

London

30%

South East

15%

East of England

9%

North West

8%

South West

7%

Scotland

7%

West Midlands

7%

Yorkshire and the Humber

6%

East Midlands

5%

Wales

3%

North East

3%

Northern Ireland

1%

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However, when we look at the concentration of members with tech skills in the regional member base, we find less variation – all regions in the UK are within a far smaller range between 16 and 12%.

Comparing national and regional membership suggests that London (and the South East) have larger LinkedIn member populations, so the absolute numbers of members are higher, but the regional figures suggests that the share of tech members are not substantively greater than in other regions.

Proportion of regional LinkedIn membership base with tech skills

Region

Proportion of regional LinkedIn membership base with tech skills (%)

Proportion of regional LinkedIn membership base with tech skills (%)

London

16%

South East

16%

East of England

13%

North West

13%

South West

14%

Scotland

13%

West Midlands

13%

Yorkshire and the Humber

12%

East Midlands

13%

Wales

11%

North East

12%

Northern Ireland

11%

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Sectors using tech skills in UK regions

Tech skills are being used across a diverse range of sectors aside from Technology (25%), including Professional Services (12%), Financial services (11%), and Architecture and Engineering (8%).

By looking at the concentration of LinkedIn members with tech skills in sectors, functions and occupations in UK regions, we can better understand the relationship between skills and clustering. From this, we can infer specialisation, based on sectors in which tech skills are more concentrated.

The concentration of tech skills confirms many of the findings in Tech Nation 2017, and reinforces our understanding that skills are core to the development of clusters. Crucially, this analysis provides empirical evidence for the case of tech skills. We are able to show that tech skills are an important part of the mix when it comes to clustering – in that companies coalesce around a pooled market for workers with specialised skills 1.

Proportion of LinkedIn members with tech skills in top industry sectors worked in by members, by UK region

UK

East Midlands

East of England

London

North East

North West

Northern Ireland

Scotland

South East

South West

Wales

West Midlands

Yorkshire and the Humber

Technology

25%

24%

26%

25%

23%

23%

31%

20%

33%

25%

20%

25%

22%

Professional Services

12%

10%

12%

14%

9%

11%

11%

10%

10%

11%

9%

10%

10%

Financial Services & Insurance

11%

6%

10%

17%

5%

8%

12%

13%

8%

9%

8%

7%

10%

Government/Education/Non-profit

10%

12%

9%

8%

16%

11%

10%

12%

9%

12%

16%

12%

13%

Architecture & Engineering

8%

10%

7%

7%

9%

9%

7%

8%

6%

9%

9%

9%

9%

Retail & Consumer Products

6%

8%

6%

5%

5%

8%

6%

4%

5%

5%

6%

6%

7%

Media & Entertainment

6%

3%

5%

9%

3%

5%

3%

4%

5%

4%

4%

3%

4%

Aero/Auto/Transport

5%

8%

6%

2%

5%

5%

4%

4%

7%

9%

6%

10%

4%

Telecommunications

4%

3%

5%

3%

4%

5%

5%

3%

6%

5%

4%

4%

4%

Healthcare & Pharmaceutical

4%

5%

5%

3%

5%

5%

4%

3%

5%

4%

5%

4%

5%

Oil & Energy

4%

4%

3%

2%

10%

4%

3%

14%

3%

3%

5%

4%

4%

Manufacturing/Industry

3%

5%

4%

1%

6%

5%

3%

3%

3%

3%

7%

5%

5%

Staffing

2%

1%

1%

2%

2%

2%

1%

1%

2%

1%

1%

2%

2%

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We find that the West Midlands has the highest concentration of LinkedIn members with tech skills in Aero/ Auto/ Transport at double the UK average (10% vs. 5%), and Scotland has a high concentration in Oil and Energy – over three times the UK average (14% vs. 4%).

Contemporary hotspots of tech skills often relate to the industrial history of a region, including their past employment patterns, and supply chains that have developed. For instance, in the early 1970’s the West Midlands accounted for almost 60% of cars manufactured in the UK 2. Despite this having fallen over subsequent decades, the region remains a hotspot of automotive manufacture, as well as aeronautical engineering. Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce and Tata Technologies have a significant presence in the region – and may explain the high proportions of members with tech skills in Aero/ Auto/ Transport sectors.

In Scotland, the continued importance of the oil and gas industry cannot be overstated – although its contribution has declined in recent years. Since the discovery of North Sea oil, and subsequent heights of exploitation through the 1970s and 80s there has been an aligned development of the petro-chemical industry, most notably concentrated in cities like Aberdeen. The concentration of members with tech skills in Oil and Energy is likely explained by the high-tech nature of the sector, and associated activity that has developed.

Government should act on transferable skills opportunities for workers with tech skills in sectors that are experiencing decline, such as the Oil and Gas sector in Scotland. A job includes skills, but also requires specific knowledge and behaviours – so best practice initiatives like Skills Development Scotland’s Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund should be learned from – to inform the way that individuals, employers and policy makers respond to future changes in the economy as a result of trends like increasing automation, globalisation, and demographic change. Aimed at people who have been made redundant from the oil and gas sector or are at risk of redundancy, the fund supports workers to apply their skills in new, or emerging sectors with stable, or buoyant growth prospects.

Functions using tech skills in UK regions

The North East (14%), Scotland (12%) and Wales (12%) have an above UK average concentration of LinkedIn members with tech skills in Operations. Operations roles require a combination of communications, management and technical skills – and occupations include Operations Managers, Live Operations Leads and Project Managers.

The reasons for this are manifold, including the historical concentration of industry based on the presence of natural resources, or the advantages of geography, and subsequent impacts on the expertise of local workers – creating a culturally embedded sense of industrial specialisation. Research 1 points to the importance of overseas manufacturing firms in Wales and North East England which may contribute to this higher than average concentration of Operations roles. There is evidence that local economic development has been boosted in these two regions by the embeddedness of non-UK headquartered multi-nationals.

When it comes to skills development and training in Wales and the North East, the story is a positive one 2. Historically, firms invested an average of 2% of turnover and 3% in Wales and the North East respectively, on training each year, which is high compared to Engineering companies across the UK as a whole, who on average spend 0.5% of turnover on training 3. Furthermore, 45% of respondents in Wales and 47% in the North East stated that their investment training had increased over the last five years whilst only 8% and 11% respectively reported a decrease.

Proportion of LinkedIn members with tech skills in top functions worked in by members, by UK region

UK

East Midlands

East of England

London

North East

North West

Northern Ireland

Scotland

South East

South West

Wales

West Midlands

Yorkshire and the Humber

Information Technology

15%

16%

16%

14%

15%

16%

17%

15%

16%

15%

15%

16%

16%

Engineering

14%

14%

15%

12%

15%

13%

19%

16%

14%

15%

15%

14%

14%

Business Development

9%

8%

8%

11%

7%

8%

7%

8%

9%

8%

7%

8%

8%

Operations

8%

9%

9%

6%

14%

9%

8%

12%

8%

8%

11%

9%

10%

Sales

7%

7%

6%

6%

6%

8%

6%

5%

8%

6%

6%

7%

7%

Arts and Design

7%

6%

5%

9%

5%

6%

6%

6%

5%

6%

6%

5%

6%

Programme and Project Management

6%

5%

6%

5%

5%

5%

4%

6%

6%

6%

5%

6%

5%

Entrepreneurship

4%

4%

4%

4%

4%

3%

4%

4%

4%

5%

4%

4%

4%

Finance

3%

3%

3%

4%

2%

3%

2%

3%

3%

2%

3%

3%

3%

Consulting

3%

2%

3%

4%

2%

3%

2%

2%

3%

3%

2%

3%

2%

Education

3%

4%

3%

3%

4%

3%

4%

4%

3%

3%

4%

3%

4%

Marketing

3%

2%

2%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

Media and Communication

2%

2%

2%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

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The concentration of LinkedIn members with tech skills in London differs from other UK regions, it is the only region to have tech skills hotspots (above UK average) in Finance (5%), Arts and Design (9%) and Business Development (11%).

It is well evidenced that London occupies a unique position in the UK’s economic landscape, nonetheless, the processes that have led to its development are happening across the country, through agglomeration of firms, networking and access to tacit knowledge; access to workspaces; opportunities for collaboration; access to skilled labour; flows of people and ideas; and co-location of less closely related sectors.

Notes:

Phelps, N. A., Mackinnon, D., Stone, I. and Braidford, P. (2003) Embedding the multinationals? Institutions and the development of overseas manufacturing affiliates in Wales and North East England, Reg. Studies. 37, 27–40. ↩

Top tech skills in UK regions

The table below shows the top 10 tech skills in each UK region. There are a number of shared top tech skills across regions, including Game Development in the North East and Scotland, and Mobile and Java Development in London and Northern Ireland. This is consistent with research that shows the clustering of games companies – employing staff with tech skills – in Edinburgh, Dundee, Newcastle and Durham 1.

Most frequent tech skills held by LinkedIn members (with tech skills) by UK region

Education levels in UK regions

Members with tech skills are highly educated with 54% in the UK holding a Bachelor’s degree, and almost 30% hold a Master’s degree.

Education levels of LinkedIn members with tech skills by UK region

Other

High School

Associate

Bachelor’s

Master’s

Doctorate

East Midlands

8%

4%

4%

57%

20%

6%

East of England

8%

5%

4%

53%

23%

7%

London

5%

3%

2%

52%

34%

4%

North East

8%

5%

5%

56%

20%

6%

North West

8%

5%

4%

58%

20%

5%

Northern Ireland

5%

3%

3%

59%

24%

6%

Scotland

4%

2%

6%

52%

28%

7%

South East

8%

4%

4%

55%

24%

6%

South West

7%

4%

4%

56%

23%

6%

Wales

7%

4%

5%

57%

21%

6%

West Midlands

8%

5%

4%

57%

22%

5%

Yorkshire and the Humber

8%

5%

4%

57%

20%

6%

*Regional totals may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

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In London, the proportion of members holding a Master’s degree is larger than other regions – whilst the proportion of members holding a Bachelor’s degree is lower. London is a mature tech cluster, where a skilled pool of labour exists – this may have led to incentives for workers to differentiate themselves from other candidates with whom they may be competing for jobs, based on a post-graduate qualification.